Spanish clothing giant Inditex, which owns Zara, has restricted customer purchases to five items per month in its stores in Venezuela as it struggles with a massive upswing in demand.

The multinational clothing company owned by Amancio Ortega, Spain's richest man, has introduced the restrictions in response to massive queues at its stores in the South American country after it introduced new, low-cost ranges.

An "avalanche" of clients has descended on the shops in recent weeks according to Spanish daily 20 Minutos, causing crowd problems.

Months of chronic stock shortages were followed by the arrival of new ranges of cheap clothes, triggering a surge in demand, but different media sources gave different reasons for Inditex's cut-price offers.

Colombian newspaper La Republica claimed that a favourable exchange rate had allowed Inditex to offer bargains but Spain's El Mundo reported that Venezuela's government had ordered the company to slash prices by 50 per cent.

Venezuelans will now be limited to five items per month: three for the upper body, such as shirts or jackets, and two skirts or pairs of trousers.

Zara clients will be issued individual ID numbers to track their purchases.